February 21, 2024

Spotlight: Catch and Release by Tracy Solheim

February 21, 2024/ Michelle Bowles

(Milwaukee Growlers Football Romance, #3)
Publication date: February 26th 2024
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Sports

Synopsis:

A second chance, enemies-to-lovers football romance.

He’s the pro athlete everyone wants to be.
Quarterback Trey Van Horn didn’t become the league’s MVP by accident. Years of self-discipline and iron-clad control have made him the envy of everyone in and around the game of football. But when he comes face-to-face with the one who got away, his tightly managed life is turned upside down. Now he’ll do whatever it takes to score the greatest comeback of his life.

She’s tired of being every guy’s doormat.
London Headley is on the verge of having the career she’s always dreamed of. Too bad the path to her promotion runs through the guy who broke her heart a decade earlier. So what if everything about the Milwaukee Growlers QB sets her panties on fire? She’s determined to keep things professional. Life has taught her that men will always choose something—or someone—over her. It’s going to take more than a Hail Mary to get her to buy into the fairy tale.

The only problem? Her lips don’t seem to want to follow the game plan. Not when Trey is executing an all-out blitz to prove he’s worth a second chance.

Excerpt

“I’m all in,” he repeated softly, his breath teasing the skin near her ear. “You can count on me, London.”

Could she?

It wasn’t like she had a choice. Besides, Bennie said Trey’s reputation with advertisers was nothing but professional.

“I’d like it if we could get through this without every moment in each other’s presence being a battle,” he added.

Well damn if he wasn’t being the mature one.

She was the one being ridiculous by reading too much into everything he said and did, that’s all. If he could approach the situation like a grown up, then so could she. After all, she wasn’t that naïve eighteen-year-old any longer. No way was she falling for Trey Van Horn again. If he could keep things light and businesslike, she would put on her big girl panties and do the same.

But not if he kept touching her. It was impossible for her to think with his body so close to hers. She hurriedly untangled her fingers from his and put some distance between them.

“I’d like that as well.” Too bad her voice didn’t sound as steady and committed to the new plan as she’d like. She managed a smile that she hoped looked more assured than she felt. “I’m looking forward to making this campaign a success.”

He returned her smile with one of his own. Only his bordered on sly, as if he knew what the words were costing her.

“Me, too.” He opened her office door and gestured for her to exit first.

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About the Author

USA Today bestselling author Tracy Solheim writes books with shirtless men on the cover. Some of them are actually best-sellers. The books, not the men. When she's not writing, she's practicing her curling. . . bottles of wine, that is. She's been known to cook dinner but no more than two nights in a row. Most days, she'd rather be reading, which to her is just necessary research. She lives in the suburbs of Atlanta with her husband and a neurotic Labrador retriever. Her two adult children visit but not often enough. (See the note above about cooking.) Check out her romantic suspense series featuring the Men of the Secret Service--shirtless, of course! See what she’s up to at www.tracysolheim.com

Connect:
https://www.tracysolheim.com/
https://www.instagram.com/tracysolheimauthor/
https://twitter.com/TracyKSolheim
https://www.facebook.com/TracySolheimBooks
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6519003.Tracy_Solheim

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June 04, 2023

Spotlight: It Had to be You by Tracy Solheim

June 04, 2023/ Michelle Bowles

Publication date: June 5th 2023

Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis:

It’s hard to keep a big secret in a small town . . .

When Paige Hollister discovers her “Mr. Right” already has a “Mrs. Right,” she swears off men forever. Even more humiliating, she suddenly finds herself labeled the other woman and out of the teaching job she loves. So Paige does what every unemployed single woman staring thirty in the face does: She hightails it to the beach. Bad luck like hers is hard to outrun, however. Her getaway is stalled when her car breaks down in a small-town chock full of meddling, nosy residents. The worst of them being the local sheriff—none other than her estranged father.

Finally on top of the golf world, Tanner Gillette is poised to show everyone he’s not just an entitled playboy coasting through tournaments on his pedigree. That is until his life is turned upside down by a little girl who shows up on his doorstep with a birth certificate inexplicably bearing his name. Complicating matters more, the kid isn’t talking. When the stress of caring for a child whose mother is AWOL gives Tanner a bad case of the yips, he’s forced to enlist help from the one person in town who can’t wait to leave.

Sticking around Chances Inlet and her father’s shiny new, über-successful family isn’t on Paige’s to-do list. Especially when she’d prefer to keep her embarrassing incident under wraps. Yet she can’t walk away from the troubled little girl. Or the sexy Australian golfer who just might make her want to take a chance on trusting her heart again.

Excerpt

She snatched up one of the beach-reads she’d brought from home. The well-worn paperback was one of her “comfort” books. Part of a Victorian era romance series featuring a group of wallflowers trying to find love. The familiar words kept swimming on the page, however, before Paige finally slammed it closed.

“There’s more to life than finding a man, sister,” Paige mumbled. Sighing heavily, she smacked her head against the pillows. “Yet another thing Jon ruined for me. Romance novels.”

She was about to reach for the TV remote when a sound from Whitney’s room caught her attention. Flipping back the covers, she listened intently for it to come again.

“It was probably something outside,” she told herself.

Except it wasn’t. Whitney was crying out in her sleep. And it sounded like she was calling for her mother. Paige raced through the bathroom and into the adjoining bedroom. Whitney was tossing and turning as sobs wracked her small body. As sweet as it was to finally hear the girl’s voice, Paige was devastated by her cries.

“Shh.” Paige crawled into the bed, gathering Whitney up beside her. “Shh,” she repeated. “Everything is going to be okay. You’re safe. I’m here.”

Whitney’s gulping sobs eventually subsided. She curled against Paige, remarkably, still fast asleep. Paige rubbed the girl’s back, softly whispering reassurances. She wiped Whitney’s tear-stained cheeks with the sheet. Within minutes, the child was sleeping peacefully.

A noise in the doorway alerted Paige they were not alone. She looked up to see a shadow of a man illuminated by the hallway lights. After resettling Gladys in Whitney’s arms, Paige replaced her own body with a pillow. She waited a moment to make sure Whitney was settled before slipping out into the hallway where Tanner waited.

A shirtless Tanner.

“She okay?” he whispered.

Paige picked a spot beyond his muscled shoulder where she could fix her gaze to avoid openly drooling at the man.

“Mmhmm,” she answered with a nod.

He took a step closer. “Are you okay?”

She wanted to be blasé and mature, but she wasn’t that skilled at playing it cool. The man’s chest was a freaking work of art. And who knew golfers had six-pack abs? Weren’t they supposed to be pot-bellied or some damn thing? It was the trail of dark hair disappearing beneath his flannel joggers that sent her over the edge.

“Could you—” She wiggled her fingers in the direction of his chest. “Could you cover that up, please?”

He looked at her as though she’d just asked him to shoot a hole-in-one on the moon. Then he chuckled sadistically before turning on his heel and padding down the long hallway leading to his bedroom.

“Water.” Paige fanned herself. “I need some water.”

Hurrying to the kitchen, she filled a glass using the dispenser on the refrigerator door. She was gulping down its contents when Tanner reappeared. Thankfully, he was wearing a T-shirt with what looked like German writing on it. A pair of sheepskin moccasins covered his feet.

“I’ve got something stronger in my study,” he said when he walked past, presumably on his way there.

A smarter woman would have returned to her bed and listened for signs Whitney might be having another nightmare.

Buy on Amazon | Bookshop.org

About the Author

Connect:

https://www.tracysolheim.com/

https://www.instagram.com/tracysolheimauthor/

https://twitter.com/TracyKSolheim

https://www.facebook.com/TracySolheimBooks

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6519003.Tracy_Solheim

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July 28, 2022

Spotlight: Double Dog Dare by Tracy Solheim

July 28, 2022/ Michelle Bowles

(Milwaukee Growlers, #2)
Publication date: July 25th 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis:

They say he who dares wins…

Luke Kessler is known for his daring play on the field and his carefully scripted life off it. The Growlers’ wide receiver has a strict rule of dating one carefully chosen woman per season, then letting her down gently. After all, his game is football, not love. That is until his dopey mutt falls for a French bulldog owned by a hot mess of a woman whose sassy mouth and mind-blowing curves have him fumbling his best laid plans.

After a humiliating concert performance played out in front of the world on social media, cellist Summer Pearson has sworn off a career in music. Forever. She’s hiding out with her grandparents in Milwaukee, licking her wounds and preparing for a predictable, if not boring, law career. The last person she needs challenging her life choices is a sexy, dog-rescuing jock who loves his grandma as much as he loves a good dare.

Especially when that same guy is dating her perfect cousin.

This fun, flirty sports romance delivers a happily ever after that will have you laughing, crying, sighing, and cheering in the endzone. One-click it now for doggy hijinks, senior citizens bent on shenanigans, sexy ax-throwing, locker room bromance, steamy private cello performances, and all the feels as two people discover they are worthy of love.

Double Dog Dare is book 2 in the Milwaukee Growlers Football series but can be read as a standalone with no cliffhangers.

Excerpt

The doorbell rang.

“Oh no,” Lizzie cried. “I’m not ready yet.” She snatched the earrings from Summer’s hand. “You have to stall him. I still need to finish my hair.”

Summer looked down at the baggy flannel boxers she’d pulled on earlier when she got home from making the final preparations in her classroom. Had she even remembered to shave her legs today? Yesterday? The T-shirt she wore was tied in a knot at her waist, revealing the Ben and Jerry’s induced swell of her belly. No way was she dressed to greet anyone, much less a hot jock.

“Oh no,” she said. “I’m locking myself in my bedroom until you leave.”

“I just agreed to your big ask,” Lizzie hissed. “This is mine in return.”

She slammed the bathroom door in Summer’s face and locked it. Milli was barking like a fiend in the living room when the doorbell rang again. Crap. There was no time to wrap herself in a Snuggie.

Or refill her wine glass with liquid courage.

With a resigned sigh, Summer made her way to the front door. Milli’s toenails were tapdancing on the oak floors as the dog prepared to launch herself at whoever was on the front porch. Summer positioned her leg awkwardly to prevent Milli from escaping and opened the door, revealing an unexpected familiar sight—none other than Monty’s owner. She bit back a groan at the sight of the mouth she’d been having some serious dreams about last night. The eyes she’d been wondering about yesterday were hazel. And currently very bemused.

“You,” she said, sounding just as priggish as she had the day before.

Monty’s owner shoved his hands into the pockets of his sharply pressed khakis. “Uh, I hope I’ve got the right address. I’m looking for Elizabeth Pearson.”

Of course, he was.

Summer was suddenly appalled she’d been fantasizing about her cousin’s date.

“She’s expecting a football player.” In for a priggish penny, in for a priggish pound.

He rocked back on his heels. “Number eighty-one in your Growler’s program and number one in fans’ hearts. And the league’s leading receiver, two seasons in a row.”

“Wow.” That explained Papa Harry’s “big fan” comment from yesterday.

Milli whimpered as she clawed at Summer’s leg to escape. No doubt the silly dog wanted to roll over and expose her lady parts to her lover’s owner.

“Asseyez-vous et comportez-vous, Milli,” Summer commanded. The dog neither sat nor behaved. Instead, the wee beast continued to struggle to get free.

Number Eighty-One chuckled. “I’m pretty sure the only French that dog understands is French fry.”

Summer bristled with indignation. How dare he fat-shame her grandmother’s adorably pudgy dog. “I’ll have you know that Milli Chanel understands French perfectly. She’s brilliant.”

He cocked an eyebrow at her. “You don’t say.”

Crouching down on his haunches, he stared into Milli’s eyes. Summer swore the dog sighed.

“Voulez-vous manger vieilles chaussures, Milli?”

Mother of God. The man was fluent in the language of love, not to mention bread and chocolate. Summer was shocked her panties hadn’t spontaneously combusted as the perfectly accented words sensuously rolled off his tongue.

Milli seemed to be having the same reaction. The dog’s eyes practically rolled back in her head as though he’d asked if she wanted cheese on her burger rather than if she wanted to eat old shoes.

Satisfied he had proved his point, he stood up with the lithe grace of a natural athlete and smirked at her. “I rest my case.”

Milli whimpered at the loss of Monty’s owner’s undivided attention.

“Oww!” Summer yelped when the dog’s claws broke the skin on her leg.

She hopped on one foot to the kitchen, leaving the guy to fend for himself with the little hussy that was her grandmother’s dog. She snagged a paper towel and held it to her shin while pouring herself another glass of wine with her other hand. Who said she wasn’t talented?

Buy on Amazon | Bookshop.org

About the Author